Ridgeley tweeted at Channel 5: “2 conceive such a sensationalist & mucky piece of voyeurism may be par 4 the course for u, the decision to air b4 GM’s funeral is insensitive, contemptuous & reprehensible. U might have the had decency 2 schedule post funeral & after a respectful period.”

Other fans branded the documentary “disrespectful’, “trash” and even “homophobic”, pointing out that it featured contributions from tabloid journalists rather than anyone who was actually closely associated with the singer.

“I absolutely loved him. When I left The Spice Girls, he took me under his wing. He was such a lovely person,” she said, adding: “When you know a human being, he says it how it is, he was very mentoring. He’d tell me when I was rubbish, tell me when I was good. He was quite normal.”